At the forefront of poultry production, the US Poultry & Egg Association's 2025 Live Production, Welfare and Biosecurity Seminar addressed critical challenges posed by avian diseases, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and avian metapneumovirus, while emphasizing the importance of housing in poultry practices. Industry leaders presented forward-thinking approaches to improving flock health and biosecurity, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a careful balance between production efficiency and maintaining animal welfare best practices.

Chris Lauderdale, principal for Jackson Lewis P.C., provided an immigration and labor update, noting challenges from outdated laws, politicized enforcement and document fraud. He observed that President Donald Trump signed 12 immigration-related executive orders and rescinded five from the Biden era, increasing visa vetting, rescinding humanitarian parole and temporary protected status and strengthening interior enforcement. He also remarked that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking $75 billion, expanded detention space and 10,000 new offices by year’s end. Lauderdale advised employers to remain calm and cooperative during inspections, know the limits of ICE’s access, document agent activities, and review staffing contracts to ensure compliance and avoid liability.

Highlighting the importance of the Biosecurity Capabilities Audit Program (BCAP), Rachel Hietkamp, brooder house manager from Cooper Farms’ turkey division, provided an overview of the BCAP process which includes reviewing biosecurity plans and procedures as well as verifying that onsite conditions align with written protocols, including perimeter security, line of separation and rodent and wildlife control, along with employee training records. She stressed that enhanced biosecurity measures are not only critical for eligibility for indemnity but also for preventing outbreaks and reinfections of HPAI. Hietkamp also emphasized the need to remain open-minded and adaptable when facing challenges, citing lessons learned on the value of extra equipment, resource flexibility, teamwork and innovative problem-solving to maintain production flow and protect both employees and flocks.

Keith Wehner, regional director, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services (USDA-APHIS-WS), discussed wildlife-focused biosecurity improvements to support HPAI prevention, which is now endemic in North American wildlife, with wild carriers driving most transmission to domestic flocks. He provided an update on USDA-APHIS-WS’s Wildlife Biosecurity Assessment, which is expanding efforts with emergency funding to help producers keep wildlife away from poultry.

Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner, professor with the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan, discussed lighting and environmental enrichments for broilers and turkeys, noting that enrichment should increase normal behaviors, support health, be practical and remain economically viable. Platforms such as straw bales and step structures were shown to increase activity, improve leg health, promote positive behaviors, reduce fear and lessen disturbances during rest. Regarding lighting, research shows broilers and turkeys respond similarly in areas such as mobility, behavior, eye health and circadian rhythms, but differ in growth rate, feed efficiency and mortality.

Source: US Poultry & Egg Association